What's Wrong with the Ottawa Senators?

As a Leafs fan, there's nothing I love seeing more than the Ottawa Senators losing (except maybe the Habs losing). But sometimes at TSN, I am assigned to write stories about the Sens. This forces me to look at the team from an objective angle, and over my 3 years at TSN, there has not been a Canadian team as confounding as the Senators.

They're a team that's easily forgotten, smack dab in the middle between 2 century old franchises in the Leafs and Habs. They've usually had a solid team, but in the early 2000s just could not figure out the Leafs in the playoffs. It's easy to forget this was a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007. But since then, they have only made it out of the 1st round once. The team has gone through a seemingly revolving door of head coaches. So, what is wrong with the Ottawa Senators?

Too many shortsided decisions, let's start with the owner: Eugene Melnyk. The Ottawa Senators are a prime example of what happens when an owner is too involved. First, let's start with the this article. After a tough season, where the Sens miss the playoffs, Melnyk says "no one is safe." He goes on to throw Cameron under the bus by criticizing his decision to start a rookie goaltender on opening day by calling the decision "stupid."  There's no doubt Melnyk is a Senators fan, it's a good trait of an owner, and after the season Ottawa had, you can't blame him for being disappointed. After that miraculous run last year, expectations had to have been higher.

Let's go back to that run. In 24 games, Andrew Hammond went an incredible 20-1-2 to help the Senators squeak into the playoffs. The Senators would then trade then-backup goaltender Robin Lehner to the Sabres to make room for Hammond on the big club.this season Hammond went 7-11-4. No one thought Hammond was as good as he played during his hot streak last season, but his numbers outside the NHL should be an indicator about his capabilities. In 2 full seasons in the AHL, Hammond never posted a GAA below 2.50 or a sv% above .910. The Senators extended Hammond's contract, but admittedly, the Sens did not give him a terrible deal. It's a 3-year contract with an AAV of $1.35 million.

Let's bring it back a couple more seasons. Remember Cory Conacher? During the lockout shortened 2012-2013 Conacher had a very productive season with the Lightning: 24 points in 35 games. The Senators traded Ben Bishop for Conacher (along with a 4th Round Pick). He failed to produce with Ottawa, getting just 25 points over 72 games. The Sens places him on waivers, where the Sabres claimed him. He now plays for Bern in the Swiss-A league. Bishop, meanwhile, went on a run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Lightning. The Senators essentially gave up Ben Bishop for a 4th Round Pick.

Since their run to the Cup final in 2007, they've gone through 6 head coaches: John Paddock, Bryan Murray (who took over after firing Maddock), Craig Hartsburg, Cory Clouston, Paul MacLean, and most recently fired, Dave Cameron. Whenever the Sens do make the playoffs, all is well, but when they miss, the coaches take the fall. Again, I go back to last season when the Sens had their miraculous run. It was obvious that Hammond's streak was not sustainable, but the team did very little in the offseason. When it looked more and more like they would misse the playoffs, Ottawa's answer was to trade for Dion Phaneuf and sign Scott Gomez.

It's understandable why Melnyk gets so antsy when the team misses the playoffs, since owning the team, the Senators have averaged losses of $10 million per year. The Ottawa Senators, almost literally, need the playoffs to survive Melnyk even said it himself. That's what's wrong with the Ottawa Senators.

Top 10 Moments from the 2015 Blue Jays Season

How fun was this season? Here are my top 10 moments from the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays season:

10. Team Bonding

Here's the scenario: AA makes some huge trades, the line up is filled with new players who have never played with each other before, the team's MVP is targeted not once, not twice, but THREE times, the benches clear and said new teammates are sticking up for their new team. I believe this game helped a lot of the new Jays fit in with the new team. You may think this is stupid, but look back to the 2013 Blue Jays, with the additions of Reyes, Dickey, Buehrle and Cabrera all trying to fit in and that season ended up being a disaster. This was a statement game.

Some highlights include Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler being disgusted at Aaron Sanchez getting tossed, and Gibby coming back out when the benches clear after being tossed (Gibby was suspended for 1 game).

9. Russell Martin Clutch Home Run vs. Yankees

Late in a close game, with division winning implications, catcher Russell Martin blasts a three-run shot to give the Jays a 4-0 lead. The Jays would win that game 4-0, but that home run gave the Jays a really comfortable lead. This was a huge win for the Jays after losing game 2 of the series in extra innings. This win was the 1st of 6 striaght the Jays would go on to win. Enjoy every call of that home run.

8. David Price's 1st Game with Blue Jays

We knew Anthopoulos was serious about building a contender when he went against his own rule and traded for a "rental" pitcher. Will Price re-sign with Toronto? That's an entirely different blog post. What I'm talking about here is his incredible 1st start with the Blue Jays: 8 complete innings and 11 strikeouts! An incredible performance which included getting out of a nobody out bases loaded jam unscathed. He didn't perform nearly as well in the postseason, but in the regular season, he was lights out.

7. Edwin's "Hat Trick"

Three home runs in a single game, are you kidding me Edwin? That was the most explosive offensive performance I've seen from one player. The fans throwing the hats on the field was just icing on the cake! A little Canadian spin. Edwin was just a solo shot shy of the home run cycle, which has never been done in the majors (it has happened in double-A), that's the equivalent of being a single shy of the cycle.

It also shouldn't be understated just how much Dioner Navarro enjoyed the fans throwing hats on the field:

6. Donaldson Pulls a Derek Jeter

The only reason this catch wasn't higher was because if he didn't catch it, it wouldn't have been a hit, just a foul ball. Still, an incredible athletic feat. And to show you just how incredible this catch was, let's take a look at the segment ESPN's Sports Science did on it:

5. Pillar is Superman! (Pt. 1)

Would it shock you if I told you Kevin Pillar was up for a Gold Glove award? Pillar has been outstanding all season, starting out in left field, and eventually solidifying a spot in centre field. Spoiler alert: this won't be the only time you see Pillar in this top 10.

4. Pillar is Superman! (Pt. 2)

I say this is "part 2" but this play was from April, before Pillar was moved to CF, before Tulowitzki and Price, back when making the playoffs wasn't a certainty. He has been making plays like that all year! Most impressive is that he had the presence of mind to throw to 2nd to turn the double play, with one out and 2 runners in scoring position. He not only took away a hit, he took away an RBI as well! He was really something this year.

3. Pillar Decides to Become Spiderman

Hands down, Pillar's best catch of the season! He climbs the wall and snags a home run. I was at this game and saw this live. There was a brief silence as he reached over the wall. That was the crowd not realizing what just happened, then a moment later, they erupted.

2. Clinching the AL East

When the Blue Jays clinched their first playoff birth in 22 years, it was very anti-climactic. Mostly because they clinched it by some mathematical technicality that no one realized until about 3 am. Although this game was decided early (Blue Jays won 15-2), when LaTroy Hawkins struck out the final batter, it was exciting. The Blue Jays wouldn't have to play the wild card game and were guaranteed a spot in the ALDS.

1. The Bat Flip Heard Across a Nation

What else did you think #1 would be? I don't need to add anything, just enjoy the 2nd biggest home run hit in Blue Jays history: 

Thank You Toronto Blue Jays

It may not have ended the way we wanted, but the 2015 version of the Toronto Blue Jays brought not just Toronto, but all of Canada on wild ride. After going 50-51 in the first 101 games of the season, they roared to the finish line, going 43-18 to end the season; clinching their first playoff birth since 1993 and the AL East title. This was partially caused by the massive trades by Alex Anthopoulos who acquired Tigers ace David Price, as well as Rockies' star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Their postseason run included an incredible comeback from an 0-2 deficit to the Texas Rangers and an even more incredible 7th inning in Game 5 of that series (full video in link). Throughout the entire regular season and postseason, the Jays showed heart, fight, and all out power. From the top of the lineup to the bottom, the team was filled with players you had no choice but to like. Josh Donaldson, the team's MVP. Jose Bautista, the captain of the team, and maybe one of the most clutch players in all of baseball. Edwin Encarnacion and his "parrot." Chris Colabello, the MLB journeymen, who spent several years playing independent baseball before getting his shot. Kevin Pillar, the baseball version of Superman. Marcus Stroman who suffered a "season ending" injury came back before the season ended and then nailed it in the postseason. Roberto Osuna, the 21-year-old closer who was born AFTER Joe Carter touched 'em all. Even utility player Dalton Pompey, who was almost guaranteed to steal you a base or two. This team had it all...

Yet they fell short. But that's okay, a majority of this team's roster had never played in the postseason before 2015, you have to start somewhere. At times, this team's playoff inexperience showed, but they will learn from it and they will be better for it. This team brought together a city that has been used to mediocrity for years. So thank you Toronto Blue Jays, for distracting us from the Maple Leafs (who aren't good this year), for reminding a city what it's like to cheer for a winning team, and for uniting a country and allowing us to show the Americans that we love baseball up north too. Thank you Toronto Blue Jays, you made us all #ComeTogether.

The 7th Inning: Should the Run Have Actually Counted?

In one of the most bizarre plays maybe in the entire history of sports, the Rangers take a 3-2 lead on a Russell Martin throw back to the mound that hit batter Shin-Soo Choo's bat. The deflected ball allowed Rougned Odor to score from 3rd to give the Rangers a huge 3-2 lead in the 7th inning. After plenty of confusion, and an umpire review, the run was deemed to count; much to the dismay of the Blue Jays faithful. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons stated they would be playing the rest of the game under protest, and then Bautista smacked a home run so hard all of Canada heard it. And in case you live under a rock, the Blue Jays won the game thanks to that home run.

So the play is a moot point, and because it is, I can look back without crying helplessly and share my thoughts on whether I think it should have counted or not.

The MLB rulebook states:

"If the batter interferes with the catcher's throw to retire a runner by stepping out of the batter's box, interference shall be called on the batter.

However, if the batter is standing in the batter's box and he or his bat is struck by the catcher's throw back to the pitcher (or throw in attempting to retire a runner), and, in the umpire's judgment, there is no intent or the part of the batter to interfere with the throw, the ball is alive and in play."

According to the rulebook, yes the run should count. But here's my issue with the play:

See umpire Dale Scott? He just ruled the play dead. As you can also see, Odor has not yet reached home plate. To me, this means the play is over, Odor should go back to 3rd, Martin throws the ball back to Sanchez, and the game continues. Unlike other sports, MLB officials don't have nor do they need a whistle. In hockey, football, and basketball, the referees have whistles to stop the play. In hockey, if the puck crosses the goal line after the ref blows the whistle, it doesn't count. I compare that scenario to the bizarre one we saw with the Blue Jays. 

Because Scott signified the play as dead, neither Sanchez nor Donaldson made an effort to get the ball to attempt to throw out Odor. Martin made a mistake when he hit Choo with the ball, but so did Scott by ruling the play dead. By the letter of the law, the run should count, but I don't think the run should have counted because the play was ruled dead. It was just a good thing the Jays came back to win, that loss may have been more painful than the Leafs game 7 collapse.

Shame on you LA Kings

Back in June, the Los Angeles Kings terminated the contract of Mike Richards, this came after Canadian border guards found "some pills in a single bottle" during a routine check while he was crossing the border; Richards was arrested by the RCMP. According to (ugh) TMZ, the pills in question were Oxycodone. The CBA states a team may terminate a player's contract if: "a player shall at any time: fail, refuse, or neglect to obey the Club’s rules governing training and conduct of Players, if such failure, refusal or neglect should constitute a material breach of this SPC." 

This move frees up a lot of cap space for the Kings, Richards cap hit was just north of $4 million. The Kings had a chance to buy out the contract with a compliance buyout, but curiously, opted not to. Last season saw Richards' production drop completely, to the point where the Kings placed him on waivers; he cleared and played with their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs. With Richards' numbers dwindling, no team willing to pick up his contract (even on waivers), and the chance to use a compliance buyout on him gone, the Kings licked their lips at this opportunity to terminate his contract. Fair enough, given that Richards broke the law right?

Well, the LA Kings also currently have Slava Voynov under contract. Back in October, Voynov was arrested on domestic violence charges, a month later he was charged with one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury. Following the arrest, Voynov was suspended indefinitely by the NHL, and is currently still suspended. Even though he only played 6 games last season, Voynov was still paid his salary during the league's (still ongoing) investigation. In fact, despite the suspension by the league, the Kings allowed Voynov to skate with the team during a practice, the league fined them $100,000 for that. In June, the Kings suspended Voynov because he was injured "outside of normal hockey training," again, freeing up more cap room, but he is still under contract to the team. 

So, to recap: Richards was caught with a bottle of pills at the border, has his contract immediately terminated before being formerly charged. Voynov, on the other hand, is arrested for domestic violence, suspended (with pay) by the NHL, eventually suspended by the Kings, conveniently before Free Agent Frenzy, for suffering an injury, but is still under contract to the team. 

I'm not defending what Richards did, at the end of the day, he broke the law. But the Kings are setting a precedent here, if you're a versatile player and break the law, they'll have your back, otherwise, don't let the door hit you on the way out. I don't know what's going on in Richards' personal life, I don't know if he's addicted to these pills, or legitimately needs them. Either way, the Kings are turning their back on a man who needs help because they don't want to pay him that much money anymore. Shame on you LA Kings.

The 2nd Annual All Bad Contracts Team

Welcome to the 2nd Annual All-Bad Contracts team. This is a post where I make a team only with players with bad contracts. If you want to see how it turned out last year, click here. There are a few repeats from the previous year, and also a few newcomers, but first the rules:

1.) It has to be contracts that are active for this upcoming (2015-2016) NHL season.
2.) The numbers are based on cap hit, not total salary (length is taken into consideration).
3.) Figures are based on Spotrac.

Let's get started:

LW- Ryane Clowe (New Jersey Devils)

Contract: 5 years/$24.25 million

Cap Hit: $4.85 million

Last Year's "Winner": Benoit Pouliot (Edmonton Oilers)

My Reasoing:

I remember fighting over this one in my head last year, but Pouliot just edged out Clowe for top (bottom) spot. In the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, Clowe put up just 19 points in 40 games (only 3 goals). New Jersey then curiously gave Clowe (then 30) the deal he has today. Since then, Clowe has dealt with numerous injury troubles playing in just 43 games in 2013-2014 and 13 games in 2014-2015. Clowe, will be 33 heading into this next season, out of his prime. His best season came in 2010-2011 when he put up 62 points in 75 games, but he hasn't been close since. Clowe will be 34 when this contract expires. The Devils will be paying a player in his mid-30s, whose effectiveness is rapidly declining and who's unreliable to stay healthy just shy of $5 million. It was a bad signing at the beginning, it'll be a worse signing at the end. 

Signed Until: 2017-2018

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Matt Moulson, Mikhail Grabovski, Marian Gaborik, Scott Hartnell, Clarke MacArthur, Max Pacioretty, Teddy Purcell, Brad Marchand

C- Dave Bolland (Florida Panthers)

Contract: 5-Years/$27.5 million

Cap hit: $5.5 million

Last Year's "Winner": Dave Bolland

My Reasoning:

Congratulations to Dave Bolland for being our first repeat winner. My reasoning is pretty well the same from last year: Bolland has never had a 50-point season, has never cracked the 20 goal plateau, and is an inconsistent player. After playing just 23 games for the Leafs in 2013-2014 due to injury, Bolland had another slew of injuries and was limited to just 53 games the following season. In his last full season (2011-2012), Bolland has just 19 goals, not enough to justify a cap hit of $5.5 million to begin with, but over the last 3 seasons combined, Bolland has just 21. 

Bolland just turned 29 so he's right in the middle of his prime. If he stays healthy he could hit the 20 goal mark at some point. But hoping for a player getting paid more than $5 million to score 20+ goals is unacceptable. Unless he manages to turn things around, I expect Bolland to be back on this list next year.

Signed Until: 2018-2019

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Brandon Dubinsky, Travis Zajac, Tyler Seguin, Patrik Elias, John Tavares

RW- David Clarkson (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Contract: 7 years/$36.75 million

Cap Hit: $5.25 million

Last Year's "Winner": David Clarkson

My Reasoning:

Yet another repeat, only this time he's on a different team from last year. That's because the Leafs did the seemingly impossible task of trading away Clarkson. Arguably the best trade of Nonis' tenure with the Leafs was trading away Clarkson for a player that will probably never play again (Nathan Horton). Like I mentioned last year, Clarkson has never hit the 50 point plateau, hitting 46 in 2011-2012. Clarkson played just 3 games with the Blue Jackets last season, getting injured during a scrum in his 2nd game. 

Signed Until: 2019-2020

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Marian Hossa, Joffrey Lupul, Michael Cammalleri, Radim Vrbata, James Neal

D- Jeff Petry (Montreal Canadiens)

Contract: 6 Years/$33 Million

Cap Hit: $5.5 Million

Last Year's "Winner": Brooks Orpik

My Reasoning:

I'll be honest, I originally had Brooks Orpik back on this list but the more I looked at things, the less I could justify it. I looked at other defensemen with similar cap hits, and although Orpik is definitely overpaid in my opinion, Jeff Petry's contract just can't be justified. Now, Petry had more points last season than Orpik and he actually scored (Orpik had 19 assists, no goals). Orpik also has a Stanley Cup and two trips to the Final. Petry played in the playoffs for the first time this season and only because he was traded to Montreal from Edmonton. It's certainly not Petry's fault the Oilers have been abysmal during his tenure, but he is a career -68. Say what you will about the +/- stat, but at the end of the day, Petry has been on the ice for 68 more even strength goals against than for. If you're into fancy stats, Petry's Fenwick dropped from 49.2 with the Oilers to 43.2 with the Habs.

One of my criticisms of Orpik last year was that he was never in the running for a Norris nor named an all-star. Petry has never been considered at all for the Norris nor named an all-star (Orpik finished 18th in Norris voting in the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season). All these things considered is why Petry made this list. However, he has only played 19 games with the Habs, so maybe a change of scenery is all he needs.

Signed Until: 2020-2021

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Andrej Sekera, Matt Carle, Nick Leddy, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, James Wisniewski, Tyler Myers, Brooks Orpik, Dan Girardi 

D- Dion Phaneuf (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Contract: 7 Years/$49 Million

Cap Hit: $7 Million

Last Year's "Winner": Tyler Myers

A lot has been written about Dion Phaneuf and his tenure with the Maple Leafs, some fairly, some unfairly. But this article isn't to question Dion Phaneuf as captain, it's to point out the terrible contracts in the league. No one will argue that since coming from Calgary, Phaneuf has lost a step, and that may have to do with an injury suffered in 2010 that saw Phaneuf's leg get cut by a skate. After putting up 40+ points in every season with the Flames (except the one he was traded to Toronto), Phaneuf has done so only once during the 2011-2012 season.

In Calgary, Phaneuf was always in the Norris conversation, he never won it (but did finish 2nd in 2008), it hasn't been the same in Toronto, yet Nonis felt the need to sign him to a $49 million contract. Sure, Phaenuf is the captain, sure, you want your captain locked up long term, but there has been nothing in his play since coming to Toronto to justify such a huge contract. Need more proof? Phaneuf's cap hit is the same as Drew Doughty's (and Doughty has 2 Cups to his name).

Signed Until: 2021-2022

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Kris Letang, Brian Campbell. Drew Doughty, Zdeno Chara, Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Karlsson

G- Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes)

Contract: 6 Years/$37.8 Million

Cap Hit: $6.3 Million

Last Year's "Winner": Cam Ward

For the second straight year Cam Ward makes this list. And the reasons for that are all similar from last year. Since leading the Canes to a Cup back in 2006 (while sporting a solid .920 sv% in the playoffs), his team has only made the postseason once. Now, while that's not entirely Cam Ward's fault, his career .910 sv% and 2.73 GAA do very little to justify a $6.3 million cap hit. The following goaltenders have a better sv% and make less: Steve Mason (.9102, $4.1 Mil), Marc-Andre Fleury (.9114, $5.75 Mil), Mike Smith (.9121, $5.66 Mil), etc.

There are only 5 netminders in the league with a bigger cap hit than Ward: Lundqvist, Rinne, Bobrovsky, Rask, and Price. And although only 1 of those goalies has a Cup to his name, when you think of "elite" those are the names that come up (maybe not for Bobrovsky...), Ward's does not. The only plus side of this contract is that it expires at the end of this season; I'm not expecting Ward to be back on this list next year.


Signed Until: 2015-2016

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Carey Price, Braden Holtby, Cory Schneider, Corey Crawford, Ryan Miller

How Much Should the Leafs Pay Jonathan Bernier?

On Wednesday both the Maple Leafs and Jonathan Bernier submitted their offers to an arbitrator. In a rare move, the Leafs elected to go to arbitration to negotiate a new contract with their number 1 goaltender. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Leafs are offering $2.89 million and Bernier is asking $5.1 million. Last season, Bernier had a salary of $3.4 million but a cap hit of just $2.9 million.

Arbitration takes into account comparables let's take a look at some comparibles and see where we can expect the salary to be. Remember, since the Leafs elected to go to arbitration, once the arbitrator makes his ruling, the Leafs have to take it.

Over his 2 seasons in Toronto, Bernier is 47-47-14 in 104 starts with a 2.78 GAA and a .920 sv%. The most important goaltending stat for me is save percentage. The Leafs gave up an egregious amount of shots over Bernier's tenure, so the fact that he's at .920 is pretty good. There were 2 goalies that had a .920 sv% last season (that played more than 10 games): Ondrej Pavelec and Marc-Andre Fleury. Next season, Pavelec will have a salary of $4.25 million with a cap hit of $3.9 million, whereas Fleury has a salary and cap hit of $5.75 million.

I'm more inclined to compare Bernier to Pavelec because their numbers are closer. Over the last 2 seasons, Pavelec is 44-42-15 in 107 starts with a 2.67 GAA and a .910 sv%. As you can see, Bernier's numbers (except GAA) are slightly better than Pavelec's, but they are relatively close. With that being said, I would expect Bernier to get a slightly higher contract than Pavelec, somewhere around $4.5 million.

Apparently the word is Bernier is looking for a longer term contract, and the Leafs want a similar contract as they gave Kadri. They want Bernier to prove his worth. Obviously, the Leafs are thinking long term here. Bernier will be 27 heading into this season, by the time the Leafs are competitive again Bernier could be 31 or 32. The Leafs don't want to handcuff themselves with long term deals like they did with Kessel, Clarkson, Lupul, and Phaneuf. There is some risk here, after next season, Bernier becomes a UFA, if the Leafs choose to lock up Bernier on a short-term contract, they risk him leaving for nothing, however, if they give him a long-term deal, it could handcuff them in the future.

If I'm Lamoriello, I'm giving Bernier a 3-year deal. Three years isn't a long contract, but it's not a short one either. If Bernier doesn't work out, that's fine, the Leafs are rebuilding and will not be good anyways, if he works out, great, by then the Leafs should be competing for a playoff spot and Bernier can help the Leafs moving forward. The two parties meet with the arbitrator on Friday, we should know the decision by the weekend.